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Thank you, Oregon

From Joe Robertson, OHSU President

On March 7, the Oregon Legislature passed a budget bill that includes full funding of OHSU’s $200 million request for the state partnership component of the Knight Cancer Challenge. We expect the Governor will sign the bill into law. This decision by Oregon’s leadership marks a very significant milestone on the road to successfully meeting the Knight Challenge and, most importantly, providing the scientific breakthroughs that save millions of lives.

I want to take a moment to thank legislators and the Governor for their support. The Knight Challenge was embraced on a bipartisan basis by legislators from all parts of the state of Oregon. Along the way to the bill becoming law, the Knight Challenge proposal passed the subcommittee 8-0, the full committee 25-1, then passed the Senate 28-2, and finally the House 55-3.

This is a big step not just for OHSU but for Oregon. I hope all Oregonians take pride in what we’re building here. The Legislature’s action demonstrates to the rest of the country that Oregon is the place where bold, innovative ideas are embraced and lives are changed for the better. We will change the face of cancer. We will end cancer as we know it.

This marks the end of the legislative portion of the journey to meet the Knight Cancer Challenge. The $200 million from the state counts towards the $500 million match, and now we turn our full attention to philanthropy. We have been raising funds steadily ever since the September 20 announcement by Phil and Penny Knight, and this week we will announce the total raised to date. I am excited about the progress we’ve made – and yet in some ways we’re just getting started.

Stay tuned for more information. And in the meantime, thank you for everything you do for OHSU and for Oregon.